Bell Asks Boards For Increase In Leadership

Los Angeles--In a speech to Hispanic school-board members here this
month, Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell criticized the nation's
school boards for paying too little attention to instructional issues
and called on them to take a leadership role in upgrading educational
standards.

Secretary Bell, citing surveys by the U.S. Education Department,
asserted that "too many school boards spend a disproportionate amount
of time on budgets, personnel issues, and salaries, when they need to
emphasize their time on education matters."

"School boards have to be more results-oriented," Mr. Bell said.
"They need to demand reports from their administrators and ask the
tough questions."

' "We've had 19 years of declining sat [Scholastic Aptitude Test]
scores. For America, that's inexcusable," the Secretary said, adding
that school boards need to monitor their districts' sat scores and
compare the results with those of other districts.

The Secretary urged school boards to lengthen the school year,
demand tougher graduation 'requirements in mathematics, science,
foreign languages, and English, and hold school officials, students,
and parents accountable for the new standards.

"Thirty-five out of 50 states require only one year of math and one
year of science to graduate from high school; we can't let that
happen," Mr. Bell said. "Nowadays, students can substitute a lot of
things for these classes. We have to challenge these young people and
not let them take remedial math when they have the capacity for
algebra, geometry, or trigonometry."

Mr. Bell also said local boards must set aside money to reward
outstanding teachers and that teachers' salaries must be
"equitable."

"When our society can honor teachers like it does our football
players, then we're making progress," he said.

English Proficiency

On the subject of bilingual education, the Secretary reiterated the
Administration's view that students must be aided to develop
proficiency in English. But he also urged that school systems
strengthen their Spanish programs so that Hispanic students will also
develop knowledge of their cultural heritage.

Mr. Bell's remarks were greeted with mixed reactions by the more
than 100 members of the National Hispanic School Board Members
Association, who had invited him to their Oct. 1 meeting at the
University of Southern California.

Several participants described the address as "politics as usual."
And one California school-board member complained that Mr. Bell "didn't
mention anything about funding or what kind of leadership Washington
was going to provide."

Many board members attending the conference represent school
districts where Hispanic children make up 25 percent to 95 percent of
the student body. Some districts have experienced federal, state, and
local budget cuts that have left them with weakened bilingual programs,
fewer teachers and aides, and teachers' salaries far below what they
might earn in the private sector. They insisted that improvements will
require more federal financial support.

"It's great to say we need changes," commented Diane Kruger, a board
member of the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose, Calif. "In
California, a lot of schools had to cut back this year because of
Proposition 13. You've got to look at funding."

Some school-board officials wondered where their districts would
find extra funds for teacher-recognition programs, not to mention money
to bolster bilingual programs that were slashed after federal cuts last
year.

"We have 15 fewer bilingual teachers' aides this year because of
federal cuts," said Bene Figueroa of the Robstown Independent School
District, located 15 miles east of Corpus Christi, Tex.

"Fifty percent of the kids in the elementary grades are
Mexican-American, and about 15 to 20 percent of those kids can't speak
a word of English.

"We're a small farming community with no industrial tax base--that
makes the federal money even more important."

But Richard Amador, the president of the Hispanic group and a
school-board member for the Alhambra School District in Los Angeles
County, agreed with Mr. Bell's comments. "We've got to be more
assertive," he said. "If we don't implement quality education in our
public schools, four years from now some states may have a voucher
system."

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